


It's Not Love

by SingingSilence



Category: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Genre: Aliens, Brotherly advice, Enid is herself, Ernesto is a good brother, He is just crazy, He is more than just a background character, Lord Boxman is a Good Dad, M/M, Might change title?, Mutliple Darrells, Not accepting feelings, Radicles is confused, Rating May Change, Raymond has a crush, Robots, Slow Burn, Slow burn because secrets, Still updating!, Will add more tags in the future, but not in the way you think, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 12:51:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12169239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingSilence/pseuds/SingingSilence
Summary: Problems are bound to happen when you are in love with your enemy. Things are even worse when you are programmed with feelings you aren't supposed to have. Raymond has to find out the hard way just how bad feelings can be, but... are they really so bad?





	1. Chapter 1

He had never been the same since prom. The thought of the blue alien echoed through his head and a strange feeling spread over him. Raymond had never felt more disgusted in himself. He couldn't think like this. It was a known fact that robots, especially Lord Boxman's robots, should not feel for anyone. Of course, there were exceptions to that, especially considering how they acted towards their father in the way that a puppy would crave their owner's approval. This was different from that, and it was unacceptable.

Raymond laid in his room, contemplating what he should do. He gripped his hair in frustration, his face stuck in a position of aggravation for around a half an hour now. He couldn't help himself, nor could he explain why. The toned muscles, the way his eyes showed complete confidence, the fuzziness of his blue skin, that /smile/. Raymond had become a mess. He couldn't even remember the man's name. He was bothered both by that, and by the fact that he couldn't take his mind off him. 

Then there was his defeat. He had been defeated by the alien in the dramatic and competitive dance-off. Was this feeling for him hate? Did he hate the Lakewood Plaza loser? Well, of course he /should/, he was designed for the specific purpose of destroying anything in his creator's way. This just so happened to be the plaza, and the workers there. This couldn't be hate, this was something completely different. He needed to find out. He felt as if he was obliged to figure out what all of this means. 

Raymond lifted up his arm, retracting his fingers and replacing them with a mirror. He stared in it at himself, his gaze softening. 

"Oh you shouldn't keep this look, it just isn't flattering..." He spoke to himself, his expression flattening. He tilted his head, fixing his hair from how hard his fingers were grabbing at it earlier. Once he got himself prepped up slightly better, he sat up. 

A distraction was what Raymond really needed. Was there a job for him perhaps? He would have to ask around. Maybe he could play ball with a group of Darrells, or at least try and convince them into taking him on. He would have to find out what to do while walking. 

Raymond stood up and went to the door, letting his legs lead him to wherever he ended up. He didn't care, as long as he could find something to do that wasn't thinking about the plaza. He passed by a few Ernestos, the robots rushing along to their places to get to work. In one of the office rooms, two Darrells were playing with a Jethro. They appeared to be picking up the small blue robot and turning it so it would move straight forwards into the other Darrell, passing back and forth between them in a never ending forward motion. Occasionally the robot would say a monotonous "I am Jethro", and the Darrells would both just nod and carry on playing with it. Obviously, they were as bored as everyone else in Boxmore was.

Raymond was about to head to the main factory area when he heard a small alarm come from inside of him. This was usually what happened when he was needed for Lord Boxman, which also usually involved attacking the plaza. He huffed. The exact thing he wanted to avoid. He was around other robots, so he had to keep his same confident and posh composure. He quickly made his way to his father's office with a smirk. This had better not be an attack. 

When Raymond arrived, his father welcomed him in. 

"Hello, Coach. You wanted me?" He raised a brow, placing his hands on his hips. 

"Yes, and I am sure you know exactly what I want you to do," his father replied. Raymond felt sick in his stomach; he didn't even think he was capable of that. 

"Of course. Send me right over! I will gladly take care of those Lakewood losers for you." 

He was anticipating it. 

 

~~~~

 

All it took was some nacho cheese and a particularly self-confident alien. Disaster had struck in the bodega, and everyone knew who to blame. 

"I can't believe you actually tried to do that. You can't charge your phone with lightning cheese," Enid huffed. "At least I don't have to clean it..." she muttered under her breath. Radicles and K.O. had spent almost an hour cleaning up after they had tried to plug a charger in the electric substance, which had resulted in a cool but messy explosion. It got everywhere, but it could also be easily cleaned, which was good for the two heros that had to clean it up. 

"I don't know what you're saying, Enid. That was awesome! It didn't work, so what? It's no biggie," Rad defended himself with a content smile. K.O. was still in awe by the explosion, even after mopping it all up. He had a huge grin as he cleaned. "That could be an awesome attack!" He said cheerfully. Enid chuckled a little, but didn't say much of anything else. She read a magazine at the front counter, saving the work of cleaning to the people that caused the problem. 

They were nearly finished by the time the alarm went off. Another robot attack. The bodega employees ran out to the parking lot, where the green robot was waiting for them, striking a very flashy pose. 

"Hello again, Lakewood losers," Raymond purred, placing his hands on his hips and casually walking towards them. He tried his best to stare at all of them equally, but he couldn't help his gaze from settling on Radicles, and the blue alien certainly noticed. He decided not to comment on it in favor of fighting the robot. 

The plan that Boxman had given to Raymond. He just needed to kidnap one of the heros. That was it. The only thing was, it was actually a lot harder than it looked. Raymond had to break his focus from the alien, and he couldn't let his need to be even for defeat get in the way of his mission. 

Enid was the first to attack, breaking Raymond away from his thoughts.

"Alright! I have had enough of seeing you, you pompous piece of junk!"

She went to place a flaming kick to his face, only for Raymond to react in a millisecond and grab her leg, swinging her around. Enid landed and ran towards him to attack again, but Raymond ducked out of the way and sent her flying forwards. 

"I have no clue what you're talking about. I am quite a view!" He grinned. 

K.O. cheered on Enid, before he practically lit up and ran back into the store. Enid came right back, and Raymond bombarded her with footballs, knocking her right in the stomach. She went soaring, but she was caught by Radicles. The ninja was, however, down for the count. Radicles ran at Raymond with the full intent to punch him. 

"Take this you tin can!" He yelled, hurling himself at the robot. Raymond dodged easily, but he didn't land an attack. Even Rad was thrown off by that. He wouldn't say anything, going back to attack Raymond again. He only ended up hurting himself, as he flung his body into the parking lot trying to tackle the robot. Raymond was shocked by his own actions. Why didn't he fight him? 

By this time, K.O. had emerged from the bodega. "Rad!" He shouted. He was holding a bowl of nachos with him, the blue sparks cracking across the meal. Radicles looked down at it, then back to K.O. He grinned and levitated the nachos, flinging them right at Raymond. The attack was so strange and unpredicted that the bot didn't know what to think. He got hit in the arm by the cheese, the appendage starting to malfunction. 

"What the?-"

Radicles ran at him full speed, phone charger in hand. "Taste some of this!" He yelled, throwing the charger at his arm. The reaction was incredible. Nachos cheese went flying, along with pieces of Raymond's arm and even some of his leg. He stared at his arm with terror before narrowing his eyes at his attacker. He went after him, limping and running towards the blue alien. He was ready to deck the hero, but he stopped short. 

Raymond dropped to his knees in front of Rad, who was beyond confused. Raymond didn't appear to be staring at anything in particular. His face was completely blank. He stood up and turned around, limping back across the street and gripping the hole where his arm had once been. He slowly made his way to the factory, leaving the heros behind. 

"Do you have any idea what that was about?" K.O. asked Rad, who just stared straight ahead with as much confusion as the kid. 

"I... don't know..." He said, simply. He recollected himself, clearing his throat. "Ahem! Maybe he was in awe of my skills!" He said with a grin and a flex, causing K.O. to get excited again. 

 

Raymond finally made it to the door of the factory. His shoulder was sparking at the socket and he had been defeated yet again. He had no way of explaining what had happened back there to his father, the only thing that he did was let him down. What had come over him? He entered Boxmore, knowing he couldn't justify himself.

This was going to be hard.


	2. Chapter 2

Despite the fact that disappointing his father had become normal, it still hurt. Even though Raymond was considered the star player, he was treated with the same harshness that all the other robots were given when they let their creator down. Lord Boxman had little to no mercy when it came to not getting something done, and it never ended well for the robots. 

"Coach, I'm sorry-"

"Don't give me that! You couldn't kidnap a simple hero for me? What happened over there!?"

Raymond quickly shut his mouth. What did happen back there? All the robots knew that trying to defend their actions had zero effect on the mad scientist. It was better to just listen to him rant and plead to not be incinerated. The unfortunate part was, Raymond hadn't been used to this since his incident at prom. His first ever mission didn't end in failure. He got the letter from the sign as promised. His siblings just brought Boxman something better. 

Eventually, Raymond toned out Boxman's rant in favor of listening to his own thought process. He knew his father would be continuing to run his mouth about how disappointed he was with Raymond for a while, so he was safe. Of course, the first thing that popped into his mind was the cocky blue alien, and he wanted to seethe, but he just couldn't do it. The name, "Radicles", finally burrowed into the robot's mind. He wouldn't be able to forget that for a while if he tried. The nacho cheese incident came from nowhere, so he couldn't have ever seen it coming. That was well justified.

"Well?" 

Raymond's attention snapped back up to Lord Boxman, who was glaring at him. His palms were pressed to the office desk and he was standing behind it. Raymond stared at him blankly, processing what he could possibly reply with if he wasn't listening in the first place. He was drawing blanks, and Boxman groaned with agitation. 

"Just get out of my sight. Go have some Ernestos fix you. I have business to attend to."

Boxman sat down and spun in his chair to face the wall, where a television displayed a telephone ringing. He pushed a button on his desk to display none other than Professor Venomous, who, as always, appeared displeased. Raymond turned and limped out of the room as Boxman talked to the other villain, almost giddy to be in his presence. He was laughing nervously by the time the door to his office finally slammed shut behind the robot, leaving Raymond to his own devices. 

As Raymond walked on, he could only think about how unfair his situation really was. Lord Boxman was always against making friends and having relationships, yet ironically he was always trying to get on the good side of Professor Venomous. It was very hypocritical of him. Though, it could be argued that his father was just acting in such a way to gain the client's trust so they can continue ordering robots, but even then, they seemed closer than that. Raymond didn't want to think too hard on that. His father was just doing what was best for his company, or was he? 

Raymond limped along through the hallway until he finally found the room for repairs. He had only ever been there for minor problems in his circuitry after the prom. He knew Shannon went here multiple times and Darrell wouldn't even bother. Most of the time Boxman manufactured enough of him that he could just off himself and come back perfectly fine. The thing with them was, Boxman made tons of Darrells, Ernestos, and Jethros because they fulfilled more jobs than just destroying the plaza and attacking others. They made up a huge population of the factory. Boxman only had one Shannon or Raymond at a given time because of the money it took to create and supply them with weaponry. Besides, there wasn't much of a demand for them anyway if villains wanted to be original to themselves. Boxman finally made them what was the robot equivalent of a med bay when he realized that he would be too busy to repair his children. Luckily, he placed Ernestos in charge of that field and even made a sign to keep Darrells out. 

Raymond entered the repair room and was greeted by his older sibling. He didn't bother being so full of himself around Ernesto because the robot saw right through it and Raymond really had nothing to prove to a robot that doesn't get competitive. 

"Hello Ernesto," Raymond greeted, sitting down on the lab bench. 

"Well hello there. You did some real damage to yourself now, didn't you." Ernesto looked him over, glancing into the socket of his arm and the damaged portion of his leg. He ran a few diagnostics on the green robot before jotting down what he would need to do for repairs.

"What happened? You rarely come here," Ernesto asked, getting ready to take notes. Raymond didn't want to admit to the fight going horribly wrong on his part, nor did he want to mention the fact that he had given up attacking when he was still capable of it. Luckily, a small explanation would do just fine for Ernesto anyway. 

"The Lakewood losers threw lightning cheese at me and plugged a charger in. My body parts flew off and exploded." It was unexpected to say the least. Ernesto glanced over, noticing that some of the blue substance was still stuck to him and inside the arm socket. He nodded when the story added up. 

"Ah, okay. That will need to be cleaned before I can replace the limbs. Sit still." 

A metal arm popped up from the floor, holding a cloth. It was small enough to fit right into the socket of Raymond's arm, and started to wipe around inside of the robot's shoulder, making him shudder from the weird feeling. Once the cheese was gone from Raymond's arm socket, it finished wiping him off and retracted back into the floor.

Ernesto made another arm appear, which had the replacement arm for Raymond. Ernesto got to work on repairing it, resulting small twitches and reactions from the green robot as wires connected or were removed due to fray. Once that was finished, Ernesto moved on to his leg. He detatched it and summoned up a new one, which sprang up quickly. He connected the new leg and did another once-over of Raymond before nodding his head in approval. 

"You are fine to carry on. Just stand up and try to move on them."

Raymond did as he was told, standing up and moving the limbs. They worked the same way, almost as if they were never lost in the first place. Raymond knew he would have to equip them with weapons and tools again, but he could do that later. For now, they worked and that was all that mattered. 

"All I have to do now is run internal diagnostics." 

Raymond froze at that. What if Ernesto found out? "You don't have to. I'm fine, really. It was just the limbs that needed to be replaced."

Ernesto shook his head. "No. I seemed to notice that your cooling fans are working overtime, so much so that they are partially malfunctioning. Many of your parts needed replacements or needed to be rewired anyway, but you skipped that last appointment." Raymond looked down sheepishly at that. "Because we have time I can fix them and find out what the problem is."

Raymond sighed in defeat. Ernesto did have a point. He knew exactly what was going on inside of him, or at least knew most of it. He just couldn't explain it or admit to it. 

Ernesto continued to run the diagnostics. Once he got the results, he looked at Raymond with slight confusion. "Just as I expected, your cooling fans have recently been working so hard that they are breaking down. So much stress is not good for you. It's unlike you as well. Is something wrong?" 

Raymond figured he couldn't hide from Ernesto after the check up, so he had to explain. "I don't know what's happening to me," he said. "Ever since I crashed this prom that was at the plaza I just haven't been the same. Something came over me and I can't make it go away." With any luck, Raymond could be as vague as possible and Ernesto would understand. Unfortunately, that wasn't how this worked. 

"Could you elaborate?" Ernesto asked. Raymond was just glad he talking to Ernesto and not Darrell or God forbid /Shannon/. 

"It's this one Lakewood loser. I can't get him out of my head," Raymond admitted, distaste clear in his voice as he thought of Radicles, but it most certainly opposed his true feelings. "I mean, I have no clue why. I react in such a strange way when I think about him. It's unfair." 

Ernesto's expression didn't change, and Raymond began to question if he actually cared or not if his younger brother was suffering. Was this suffering? It certainly felt like it. Though, he was surprised with Ernesto's reply. 

"Why not talk to him then?"

Raymond gave the purple robot a look of absolute shock. Sure, he had never considered such a thing himself, but why should he? Rad was an enemy. 

Ernesto only continued. "Avoiding your problem never solves anything, so why bother? Maybe you'll release stress and feel better if you speak to him." 

Raymond's head lowered as he could only contemplate it. He knew how that would most likely turn out, with another fight. He didn't know if he wanted to fight him until this wad solved. He could most certainly talk big, but actually battling was another story. 

After a few moments, he finally nodded. "Alright... I'll do it." 

Ernesto looked generally proud, until Raymond got up and started heading for the door as fast as his new legs could carry him. "Thanks Ernesto!~" He sang, rushing out the door.

"Hey wait!-" Ernesto yelled after him. It was too late. The green robot was already gone.

"...You never got your parts replaced."


	3. Chapter 3

Picking up cheese from inside the store was one thing. You couldn't mop a parking lot. Enid had been moved back to the cash register. They leaned her back in the chair and put a pair of sunglasses on her so people would think she was conscious. Not many people came by anyway so she would be fine where she was. Radicles and K.O. scraped the cheese and robot pieces off the ground and moved them to the alleyway filled with other robot parts. 

"That final move was totally awesome."

K.O. could only nod in agreement. "Yeah! His arm flew everywhere! I told you that would be a great attack!" He finally got the last piece thrown out when he turned to Radicles, his face taking on a confused expression. "Hey, do you know why he stopped fighting us?" 

Radicles shrugged in response, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Maybe he broke on the inside. Some part of him malfunctioned so bad from our amazing attack that he just couldn't keep going." Radicles sounded calm, but on the inside he was just as confused as K.O. was. The robot had refused to attack him, and he didn't know why. He was acting strange. Usually, Raymond would be at the top of his game, and so willing to fight him. Even at that dance off, he was ready for everything. If anything, he had to thank the robot for pushing him to his limit. They held a mutual respect for each other. As much as he would never admit it, Raymond made his party all the more interesting. He gave it life. Not to mention, the robot was an actual challenge for him, unlike his siblings. 

But now, he was definitely acting different. He couldn't blame failing to attack him and only him on robotic malfunctions. There was something more going on. The robot had lost his moxie during that fight and, dare he say it, Radicles actually missed it.

Rad found himself staring at Boxmore as he finished sweeping the parking lot. He shook his head to push those thoughts away. His antennae drooped as he finished cleaning. He checked the time and perked up again. Their shift was almost over. He couldn't wait to get back to his van and actually relax. 

K.O. played with some of the robot parts. "My mom is going to come to pick me up soon," he said as they made their way back to the bodega. "Do you think Enid will be okay where she is?" 

Rad finally remembered she was still sleeping at the cashier desk. He waved K.O. off. "Yeah, she'll be fine. If not, I'll wake her up." He assured the smaller hero, who nodded. 

"I can't wait to get to a high enough level to defeat Raymond. That would be incredible! You were amazing back there!" He praised Rad, who sucked it up. As much as he would be willing to actually take that, he didn't really deserve it. He almost felt as if Raymond let him win, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. He supposed he could just shut up and accept his victory, but even then, it brought guilt with it.

"Yeah. I really was." He said with a grin, flexing his bicep. K.O. saw his mom's car drive around to the bodega, and he ran over to it. "See you Radicles!" He called, hopping into the front seat of his mom's car. Rad waved him goodbye as they drove home. He headed inside to clear his head of Boxmore and wake Enid up. As was expected, she wasn't happy. 

Rad couldn't wait to get back to his van.

 

~~~~

 

Raymond raced through the building. He didn't think he had ever moved faster in his life (though, he hadn't been alive for that long). He stopped short once he got to the door of the factory. He almost wanted to slap himself for not thinking clearly. How had he been so ignorant? What did he plan to do once he actually did see Rad? Raymond had gone all the way to the front of the factory without any idea of what he should do once he actually got the alien's attention. 

He stood against the wall by the large factory area and watched Darrells run around and fulfill orders. Some of them were playing with each other while others did legitimate work, and some were on a well earned break. He relaxed and let his mind wander, thinking about what he could say to the blue alien. 

Raymond then went on to think about what would happen if his father found out about his feelings. That only brought terror to the green robot. Even an irreplaceable perfection such as him would be thrown into an incinerator at the mere mention of feelings towards another. He couldn't let his father know. The irony and tragedy of this was almost laughable. Raymond wasn't laughing. 

He watched the Darrells go about their business. There appeared to be a line of six Darrells in a V formation on the lower level. They looked as if they were dancing. Of course, only four of them were doing the right dance, one was doing the total opposite, and another was facing the wrong direction altogether. It was amusing, but he got bored of watching it after a little while. 

He wondered what time it was. He doubted that the employees wanted to be bothered by another robot during work, even if he didn't want to fight. He supposed the only way to actually know would be to find out. After plenty of consideration, he finally stepped outside. Raymond kept himself hidden as he spied on the plaza. It looked as if the place was closing. A lot of people seemed to be leaving and he even saw the kid from earlier drive off with what appeared to be his mom. 

The doors opened and the same pink haired girl from earlier left. Was he too late? Maybe Rad left already. He frowned at that thought, sitting behind the bushes. He had never seen him leave. The only thing he could do was either wait or approach. Did he actually want to just swallow his pride and approach? He had a chance, but what would happen if he tried?

Raymond stood up, walking casually towards the bodega. His stature wasn't the same; his confident stride was gone. He made his way to the back alleyway, deciding to go back on what he intended to do in favor of just hiding. Besides, what if his father saw him from the window of his office? He would be dead. Raymond hid in the alleyway, spotting what appeared to be the only vehicle left in the parking lot. 

He didn't have a second to think about approaching it before he was knocked down and sitting up against the alley wall. He lifted his head in shock only to be met with a glare from none other than his stalking victim. 

"What? Did you think I didn't notice you?" Radicles said, crossing his arms. "I'm too perceptive for that," he added with a turn of his head. He waited to see if Raymond would get up to fight him, but was all the more suspicious when he didn't get up. 

"What is going on with you?" He finally asked awkwardly, trying to break the silence and rubbing the back of his head. Raymond was still getting over the initial shock that he had even bothered to go to the plaza. He finally answered, his words coming from his mouth before his brain could even process them.

"I came to talk to you." 

The words hit Radicles hard. It was completely unexpected. He didn't know what to think. What trick was Raymond trying to pull? He looked to the robot for any sign of a façade or any hint of a trick, but he couldn't seem to find anything. Raymond's face was blank. He had nothing to hide.

"Why?" Rad finally asked, scrunching his nose. 

"I wanted to see you..." Raymond murmured in his soft voice, as smooth as silk. "I don't know what came over me. Really. Before I could stop myself, I was here." He frowned as he looked up at Rad, but his face displayed a look of concern for himself. 

"Well... uh... Alright..." Radicles said, his face heating up slightly. Raymond saw this and reacted almost the same way. He heard his cooling fans kick in and his face stimulated a light blush. Both of them looked embarrassed by this sudden interaction, and neither of them could defend themself. 

Radicles mentally kicked himself for not keeping up with his cocky attitude. He could have accepted the compliment and fed his ego. Though, hearing such a thing from Raymond was interesting. He shook his head, his hard stare returning. 

"Look, I don't trust you. Why aren't you fighting me? What's your deal?" He pinned Raymond to the wall, trapping him there. The closeness made him heat up more, and he heard a small pop inside of him, Raymond's eyes widening at the sound. Soon enough, he remembered. The check up. He never replaced his parts. His cooling fan just broke. That sound was the fan coming off the axel. 

Raymond had to find the right words to say to Radicles before he broke. He bit his lip in anxiousness before he finally spoke. "I have weird feelings for y-" He never finished what he was saying before his whole body sparked up and shut down. His eyes faded into empty blackness and his body collapsed in front of the very disturbed blue alien. 

Radicles stared at the robot in shock. He thought about what Raymond had said before he shut down. His face flushed purple and his ears and antennae drooped. He stared down at the lifeless robot, wondering just what had happened. 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Radicles lifted Raymond up. He carried the robot all the way to the other side of the street. "I don't know what's going on with you... Let's get you fixed." He brought Raymond to the door of the factory and knocked on it. Why did he even bother? He knew Boxman would make another body to transfer his conscience into. He just felt obliged to do this. Radicles placed Raymond down on the sidewalk and walked away. He didn't notice the large group of factory Darrells grab Raymond and stare at the hero in confusion, bringing Raymond to the med bay as fast as possible. 

Radicles headed to his van, sitting in the front seat and staring out the windshield. He wouldn't mention this to anyone. His face flushed as he finally started the vehicle, whacking the steering wheel (as gently as he could) in frustration with himself.

After all, they were enemies!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like they got too ahead of themselves! Also, what's this? Two chapters in one day? I had way too much time today.


	4. Chapter 4

Hearing "I told you so" from his brother for not getting replacement parts was not Raymond's ideal thought of spending the rest of his afternoon, nor was lying down on a lab bench while said brother operated on his internal components right in front of him. But, Raymond was just grateful that Ernesto had seen him before a certain someone else did. Raymond didn't think he would be able to explain himself twice to his father today, and he most certainly didn't want Boxman questioning why he had bothered to go out against orders in the first place. Raymond would most likely get punished for just going out in general. If he admitted why he went to the plaza, he didn't know what Boxman would do to him. 

"Almost finished! You should be lucky that blue guy came here instead of throwing your body away." 

Raymond turned his head to look at Ernesto, his eyes filled with curiosity. This had been the first time that Ernesto had mentioned how he managed to reach the med bay. He hadn't even asked how he got here or considered it. Raymond had woken up on the lab bench through a small jolt after Ernesto repaired the cooling fan and fixed him enough for him to start up. Just the thought of Radicles actually bringing him here was questionable, nevermind how Ernesto got such information.

"He came here?" Raymond asked. "How do you know?"

Ernesto fused a new wire to a chip inside of Raymond, causing the robot to visibly twitch. Such was normal during operations. Minor reactions were involuntary. They were sometimes amusing to watch as well. 

"A group of Darrells told me," Ernesto replied. "In fact, they were the ones that brought you to the med bay. I had to bring you in and chase them away with a broom before they tried to investigate what was in here." He sighed, continuing to work on the internal structure of Raymond's torso. 

Raymond froze, his eyes widening. If they knew that Rad had brought him to Boxmore, who knew how many people they had told already. He would definitely be in a lot of trouble if enough people found out. He couldn't do anything about it now. All he could do was wait for Ernesto to finish repairing him and then check around the factory to see what damage was done to his dignity. 

"Oh..." Raymond finally answered. Now he only had more curiosity for the alien's actions. Why would he carry him all the way to Boxmore in the first place? Weren't they enemies? He supposed the worker was just following standard hero protocol and trying to rescue him rather than just dumping him, though he didn't actually know what hero protocol was and even from what he could notice, heroes at the plaza never actually put that much effort into it. 

The more Raymond tried to find alternate reasons for Radicles actually saving him, the harder it was to reach a conclusion and the redder his face became. His cooling systems, yet again, found themselves reaching maximum speed and even Ernesto pulled away to just witness it. 

"He cares.. about me..." Raymond said, his voice trailing off. Even with coming out and saying it, Raymond still felt strange, as if he couldn't believe it. He stared straight up at the ceiling, his fans finally slowing down. 

Ernesto had been backed up away from Raymond, patiently waiting for Raymond to calm down. He finally approached when the green robot was deemed safe to continue operating on. "Well, yes?" The purple robot replied with a shrug. He didn't know what to think or what was actually going on. For the most part he just didn't want Raymond breaking down on him again. His brother was expensive; enough said. 

"Try not to over exert yourself, alright? I upgraded your internal structure so you will be more capable of handling such- ahem- feelings... Just be careful and you should be fine." Ernesto placed Raymond's torso cover back on his body and gave it a gentle pat, the shiny green surface gleaming in the light on the med bay. Raymond got off the bench and stood. 

"Thanks again, Ernesto," Raymond said, heading out the door. Ernesto merely waved him off and got back to work. The door shut behind Raymond and he processed what he should do next. There were a few Darrells running amok in the facility that knew of his rescue, so Raymond decided to make that priority number one. He walked down the hallway, listening in on conversations to hear anything that might involve him or Radicles. 

Raymond proceeded from room to room, and he began to lose hope when he bumped right into his dreaded sister. Shannon had a smirk on her face that suggested she had intended to run into him. 

"Hello, Raymond," She sneered. Her arms were crossed and her hip was slightly bent. She practically reeked of blackmail material, so much so that Raymond frowned at her. 

"How much did you hear?" He asked, seething through his teeth. Shannon pretended to check her nails, which was basically just staring at her fingers because she lacked them. "I don't know..." She said blandly. "Some little red robots told me that you were brought around by a hero we frequently fight. Any explanation for that?"

Raymond crossed his arms as well, making himself bigger than Shannon. The orange robot didn't seem moved by the action. She finally looked up at him with a grin. "Psh! You really think I'm going to tell daddy?" 

Raymond raised a brow at that. Of course he expected that. Shannon had no mercy, exactly like their dad. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't you?" He asked. This didn't really add up. Shannon wasn't trying to get dirt on him and he was actually worried that something might be wrong with his sister. 

Shannon gestured for him to follow, and as suspicious as Raymond was, he obliged. Shannon led him down the long hallway and through multiple different corridors before they were finally standing in front of her room. Shannon opened the door and quickly shut it once Raymond was inside the room. "This is the one time you will actually get to come in here," she hissed, making her warning clear. "So don't touch anything!" She added, pointing for him to go sit on her bed. 

Raymond sat down and waited. "Can you tell me what is going on? What's the point in being so ominous?" He watched as Shannon moved around her room. She went to her closet, opening it up and starting to dig through. The closet had multiple costumes and accessories, and makeup flew everywhere. She finally found what she was looking for, and the smile she had made Raymond uneasy. 

Shannon walked back over to Raymond, holding what looked to be a large shoebox. Raymond didn't even know how she got it if none of them wore shoes, but he wouldn't comment on it. She opened the box to reveal numerous manga books, a majority of them were sappy romance novels. 

"See these?" She said. "These are part of my collection." She gave a look of pride until Raymond reached out to pick one up. She quickly shut the box, practically hissing at him. "I said don't touch!" Raymond stared at her, clearly unamused. What was the point in showing him if she wasn't going to let him read it?

"Look," Shannon continued. "I keep all these things a secret. You think I didn't notice how you have been acting lately? You can only play big confident "star player" whatever for so long." She huffed. "I don't have any real outside connection with anyone in particular. I would rather read about romance and whatnot alone in my room. You actually have someone." 

Raymond scrunched his nose slightly. He didn't really think that what he had was something romantic. He only had butterflies in his stomach when he thought of Rad, it was really no big deal. His face heated up when he thought about him more, and Shannon's grin got wider with each shade.

"You have a cruuush~" She sang, all before cackling. Raymond wanted to defend himself, but his actions couldn't really be defended. She was right, and he couldn't argue. Once Shannon was satisfied, she placed her hands on her hips. "We keep this a secret, m'kay? I don't want daddy finding out about any of this." 

"As long as you can keep your mouth shut, we should be fine here," Raymond replied smoothly, momentarily making Shannon growl. He stood up to leave. Shannon stood in front of him. "Just one question!" She said, making Raymond sigh. He nodded for her to proceed, which she gladly did without a moment of hesitation. 

"Why him?" 

Raymond felt his cheeks flush up again. He supposed he could answer her. After all, she went through the risks of showing him her collection. Raymond went on to tell her about prom and about what had happened there. She was practically bouncing up and down when he finally finished. "You two danced together? Did he take the lead?" She narrowed her eyes with a cheeky grin. "Yes," Raymond stated with a frown. "Well, I guess both of us did. It was a dance off, so most of it was just us trying to one-up each other." 

Shannon seemed content with that. She stepped out of the way again to let Raymond go, but before he could push the button to open the door, he heard her mutter. 

"I wonder how you could kiss him with your big dumb nose in the way."

He nearly broke the button to the door at that comment. He really needed to leave. The second he stepped outside, he rushed down the hall to his own room, shutting and locking the door behind him. He relaxed once he realized that he was safe and alone, and he lied down on his bed. 

Despite being robots, Boxman had still supplied them with beds. Normally they would just shut down on them and "wake up" at the set time. It was sort of redundant, but it was still appreciated as a way of Boxman trying to be as close to an actual father as the mad scientist could be. 

Raymond laid in bed the whole night, not bothering to shut himself down until later. He didn't need sleep anyway; he could operate normally without resting for a night, he just wouldn't really be able to fight and would most likely have to gain that time back. Instead of rest, Raymond had spent almost the entire night slowly heating up while picturing how he could kiss the blue alien with his big dumb nose in the way.


	5. Chapter 5

Radicles had found himself staring in the direction of Boxmore from the store front window far more times than he would have liked. It was hard to ignore in the first place, but one thing had been lingering in his mind that just did not seem right to him. He was standing at the front door of the bodega and watching the factory yet again while mopping when he was snapped out of his thoughts.

"Yo Rad," Enid called from the counter. She leaned her chair back as always and was staring at him with her same lax expression. "You've been mopping that same area for a full five minutes now." Rad looked down at the floor, only to be blinded by the sight of the shiny surface that was over cleaned. He hadn't even realized he was done. He put the mop and bucket away and stretched, making a big show of it despite no one else being around other than K.O. 

"You alright? I've never seen you so spaced out before." 

"I'm fine," Rad assured her, basically waving her off. "Just admiring my reflection in the window!" He gave a proud stance. Enid rolled her eyes. "Doubt it," she said. "You were looking at Boxmore." Rad's stance faltered, but his smile didn't. He just had to think fast to come up with a reason. "I'm just waiting for the next chance to kick some robo behind! Gotta be prepared for that kind of thing in order to be a great hero, right K.O.?" 

At the mere mention of hero, K.O. lit right up. "Right! Rad is making sure to do what's best for the bodega." He sorted through and stacked cans at a faster pace, cheerfully doing work. Rad gave K.O. a thumbs up, which was quickly returned. He went back to watching the factory, now trying to keep a suspicious expression rather than a zoned out one. He almost anticipated another attack, but he doubted that who he was looking for would actually be sent. He needed a distraction. He needed something that would get him away from that window. 

"I'm gonna head to the back room and sort out packages. If any of you need me, I'll be there." He walked past his two co-workers, hoping that excuse would work. It wasn't necessarily an excuse. He /did/ need to go sort out packages, but he was hoping to hold that off for as long as he could. He did the most work when his friends were distracted by customers (or when Mr. Gar was around to watch them like a hawk.) He barely had his hand on the doorknob when he heard the all too familiar sound of a portal opening in front of the plaza. Rad turned right around, rushing out the door along with his friends. He was holding his breath as he saw the box open. 

Rad was quickly disappointed when he simply saw Shannon, who had an evil grin and was ready for attack. She glared at all three of the plaza workers, her hand replaced with a rotating buzzsaw. "Hello again, Lakewood losers! Are you ready to get your butts served to you by Shannon?" She cackled, emphasizing her name. 

"No, not really..." Enid said, her voice monotonous and bored. She had her arms crossed, clearly not seeing the robot as a threat. Rad was less than amused, he even looked disappointed that it was just Shannon. The robot took note of this, and her grin could only widen. "Well too bad!" She exclaimed, swiping her hand in front of herself. She did not want to let her father down, but at the same time, she was curious towards Rad's reaction. She went after him first. "Take this!" She yelled, running towards Rad and trying to slice at him. Rad quickly got out of the way, punching her in the face. "I don't think I want it," he sneered. 

Shannon veered back, holding her face in astonishment. There was definitely a dent there. She wanted to shake with rage, but her mission echoed in her head. She continued to strike at Rad, who easily moved out of the way and took her down. "You know who has skills so unlike mine?~" she said, just loud enough that only Rad could hear. 

"Raymond." 

Rad's face flushed up, and his punch to her face faltered. She took this time to strike at him, laughing at his failure. "Ooh! Would you rather be fighting him right now?" Shannon teased, making Rad fume. Enid had managed to hear her this time, and her brows furrowed. She moved to help Rad attack. She would have to ask him what was going on later. 

"Alright, that's enough of that," Enid spoke, kicking Shannon in the torso. The robot flew backwards, dazed by the attack. She finally got back up again, and was clearly intrigued. She had really managed to set Radicles off, and it showed with his moves. He definitely looked mad too, and she wasn't sure if that was all directed at her or partial frustration towards himself. She wouldn't say much else. She had gotten all the information she needed out of the alien. Still, she had a fight to win. Her main priority was to take them down, and she would stick to it. 

Shannon rushed at the two heroes, both of which were already prepared for her attack. She went towards Enid, but Rad nailed her in the face yet again. She hadn't expected such power to come from it. The punch alone sent her flying into the concrete. Even Enid noticed that he had really changed, and her concern could only rise. She didn't know why she bothered to care so much about it, but Rad was definitely hiding something, and she didn't know how to feel about it. By the time Shannon got back up, she was floating in the air. Radicles had her trapped in one of his beams. He threw her down into the concrete, causing her buzzsaw arm to fall off. She still looked so satisfied with herself. 

"Time for you to buzz off!" Enid said, landing one final kick to Shannon when she got back up. Shannon's head spun on its shoulders until it finally exploded. Her body fell to the concrete and spazzed out with malfunctions.

Radicles watched as it finally stopped moving, and Enid was ready to clean up the mess. "C'mon, Gar is gonna flip if he doesn't see us cleaning this." Rad picked up the robotic parts. His face hadn't changed from a harsh stare, aimed at the robot parts or the ground. Enid looked to him with concern. "Care to tell me what that was all about?" 

Radicles looked at her, his expression finally changing to a smile to try and throw her off. "I dunno. Just got caught up in the fight is all." He shrugged his shoulders. Enid was not convinced. She crossed her arms. "Rad," she said coldly. Rad's antennae drooped as he turned to her again. "Tell me what's going on. What's up with you? You've been acting... weird..." 

Rad sighed. "I honestly don't know, Enid. That's all I can say." Enid gave him a glare of distrust, but Rad's pleading face made her sigh in defeat. "Fine," she muttered, Rad grinning with his little victory. "But don't think I'm just going to let this slide. I will find out what is happening." Once she finished picking up the parts with Rad, she finally went inside the bodega to give K.O. some company, leaving Rad alone with his thoughts. 

Rad stared down at the robot parts he had just finished moving, and the scrap heap that had been in the back alleyway for what seemed like forever. He couldn't help but get brought back to fighting these robots, and the fact that they would die and come back again. The more he considered it, the sadder it sounded. Even he knew that they only attacked the plaza to please their father. If they had a choice, they would most likely be doing their own things. The more he looked at the scrap heap of broken parts and robot corpses, the less he saw them as human. 

"No," Rad said to himself, banishing those thoughts. He remembered his interaction with Raymond vividly. They do have feelings, Raymond proved that. He didn't know how to accept them, but he felt them nonetheless. They were not just mindless drones at the control of the plaza's enemy, they had personalities and interests. He finally brought himself to turn and look at the nearly cheese-covered broken arm. The arm that belonged to Raymond. The one that he had refused to fight Radicles with. Rad sighed and turned around. "I have got to stop thinking like this..." He murmured. His soft side was clearly showing, and he didn't want it to with the few remaining hours of work he had left. He took another step forwards, straightened his back, and put on a big cocky grin. "Yeah, this is better," he said. He walked back into the bodega, getting started on his work once again. 

 

~~~~

 

Shannon stepped off the moving platform back at the factory once she was transferred to another body. She moved her joints and stretched out. She was upset, but also secretly giddy as she made her way to her father's office. 

"I'm sorry I failed, father!" She whined. "Those stupid plaza workers got me again." Boxman turned around in his chair, slamming his palms down on the desk. "Disappointing me yet again! Try harder next time!" He yelled. He proceeded to rant again, but Shannon had heard his little speech enough times that she could probably quote it by now. She whimpered when she was told to get out, and it took her a moment to get over the rejection she recieved. 

When she finally got over losing again, she remembered her other, more secret, priority. Making her way down through the hallways, she could hardly contain her excitement. She remained casual, however, when she passed by her robot brothers. She managed to get far before she was finally stopped by Raymond. He was too prideful to admit he was watching the battle, but he witnessed the whole thing. 

"Well?" Raymond asked, anticipating her answer. He clinked his fingers together, his eyes shrinking with nervousness. 

"He is sooo into you," Shannon taunted, continuing to walk down the hallway towards her own room. Raymond stood up straight, flipping his hair. "Well of course he would be," Raymond huffed. 

The second she was gone and he was all alone, Raymond smiled wide and practically jumped for joy.


	6. Chapter 6

The tension in Enid and the odd behavior of Rad certainly did not go unnoticed. K.O. may have been a bit too young to understand just what was going on, but he recognized trouble when he saw it. Just after the battle with Shannon, all seemed normal with the blue alien. He went inside and discussed his incredible victory, which K.O. loved to listen to despite knowing some of it was exaggerated because he watched the fight through the window. Enid just let him fib, sitting herself behind the cash register. They both seemed fine.

However, all was not what it appeared to be. K.O. had seen the way Rad would sometimes stare at Boxmore and how Enid would occasionally shoot him suspicious glares from across the room. The alien was deep in his thoughts more often than usual, and when questioned he would either get defensive or tell K.O. another lie or excuse. Enid refused to talk about this or try to find any sort of reason behind it, and K.O. felt left out in a way.

"Hey, Enid." K.O peeked up from the other side of the counter, his eyes fixed on the bored ninja. "What's up, K.O.?" She asked, leaning on the counter and staring down at him. "Do you know what's wrong with Rad?" The kid asked. Enid tried to think of something to say to him, but Rad had never even told her what was going on, and she was sure that K.O. had heard enough lies from the man in question. 

"I have no clue, kiddo. It might just be for the best that we leave him alone and let him work whatever this is out by himself." Enid shrugged, sitting back with the hope that their conversation was over. Unfortunately, K.O. didn't let her off so easily. "That's not the hero way. If he's hurting inside or if he has a problem, isn't it our job as his friends to help him work it out?" 

Enid sighed. The kid had a point yet again. He was just too good for this cruel world. As much as Enid didn't want to lower his expectations or put him down, she figured it was for the best that he understood life didn't always work so easily. "Look, K.O. Sometimes, it is better to just stay off to the side and let someone come to you if they have a problem, or let them figure things out themselves. Even if you know he is upset, Rad is still himself, and he is still stubborn. Trying to get him to talk about his feelings will get you nowhere, and you know that. Just let it be." 

K.O wanted to say something further, but he could tell Enid didn't want to talk about it anymore, and he respected that. He was still bothered by the way Rad was acting, but Enid was right. Trying to reason with Rad or discuss his inner turmoil was a hopeless feat. K.O. could either figure out himself what the problem was by investigating, or just wait it out and see if it would fix itself.

Of course he wanted to find the problem and help. He was a hero, after all.

 

~~~~

 

Darrell was so close to being sent out to vandalize the plaza, but for some unknown reason, his sister had quickly taken the job instead. He was upset about having to wait to attack the bodega, but at the same time he was curious. Usually, Shannon didn't take missions so eagerly unless she had something to prove, and through the hive mind of Darrells, he couldn't find one that had managed to make her want to go. Maybe it wasn't one of him? He didn't think that anyone other than Raymond would have that influence on her, but even then, his younger brother had recently been very distracted, and without reason. Both his siblings were acting weird, and Darrell was going to make it his job to find out, especially since his original job of terrorizing the plaza was taken from him.

Darrell left the factory while his sibling was being sent to the bodega. He watched from afar as she attacked, and managed to hide in some shrubs while everyone else was focused on the battle. He waited it out, all the way until Shannon's head blew right off. It was always interesting to see his siblings explode. He supposed that was just one of the many differences between his kind and humans. No one cared if a robot died, not even the robot did. If a human died, people mourned their loss. Humans didn't have infinite lives or hive minds, but they were still some of the most complex beings Darrell had ever had the misfortune of dealing with. 

Darrell had snuck into the back alley when the fight was over. He lied down on a pile of robotic bits and pieces, pretending to be dead among the other robot bodies. Once he saw the two heroes bringing pieces of Shannon into the alleyway, he went completely still to blend in. Normally, one might think it was rather morbid to simply lie down among corpses of yourself and your siblings, but to robots it didn't matter much. They could see each other back at the factory and talk about how they lost an arm or a leg so easily or how a malfunction happened that caused one of them to blow up. Robots were much simpler. 

He waited until they were gone to actually look around. He didn't know what he would get for information, or if it was even worth the effort, but he didn't care. He searched around anyway, mostly spying on the plaza workers to see what he would get out of them. 

 

~~~~

 

K.O. stepped out of the bodega, clutching a bag full of garbage and humming happily. He had no problem taking out the trash as long as it helped the store. Enid had assigned him with such an important task and he accepted the incredible responsibility. He finally made his way around towards the huge bin when he noticed Darrell, who unfortunately saw him first. Darrell ran at K.O., tackling him to the ground. K.O. landed a decent punch to him, and Darrell backed off. This was not the way that Darrell had intended for them to meet up.

"Darrell? What are you doing here!" K.O. narrowed his eyes, posed for another attack. Darrell put his hands up in what looked like surrender, which caught K.O. off guard. 

"Look, kid! I don't want to fight you," he said. "I want to know what's going on! My siblings have been acting weird lately and I think it's at the fault of your fellow losers." K.O. looked at Darrell bitterly, but he then remembered Rad. This might be his opportunity to get to the bottom of this, and despite knowing Darrell was his enemy, he did have a point, and he just wanted to figure out what was wrong with his siblings. He couldn't find a reason to fight Darrell again, so he decided to just give him what he knew. 

"I don't know what's happening either. All I know is that Rad has been zoning out a lot, which he almost never does! I have caught him staring at Boxmore multiple times without reason. Enid is suspicious of him and I just want to help." K.O. sulked. How could he help if he didn't know the problem? Was there a problem? 

Darrell didn't seem moved. He crossed his arms. "I was supposed to be sent to the plaza earlier today, but Shannon came almost out of nowhere and accepted the mission herself. She would never do that unless she wanted to prove she was better, but no one made her mad. As much as I would rather just accept it, it still bothers me." Darrell frowned. "Raymond has been... strange... as well. He sticks around the front entrance a lot. Your blue friend brought him to the factory. He was completely shut down! But the thing is, he didn't even look damaged! He was fine!" 

K.O.'s eyes widened. Rad wouldn't do that, would he? "Why?" He asked, as if Darrell knew the answer. The robot was just as lost as he was. "How do you expect me to know?" Darrell said with agitation. K.O. was now more than ever determined to find answers for this. He couldn't see how Radicles would go through the effort to bring Raymond to the factory, nor did he understand why Raymond would come to see them other than for a fight. They fought earlier, but Raymond's arm was blown clean off. If he really was new like Darrell said, then he must have shown up to the plaza again later on, and it must have been after K.O. left. "It doesn't make any sense!" K.O. whimpered. Darrell nodded his head, equally confused by it all. 

K.O. finally reached the conclusion to just continue monitoring them. Whatever was going on with Rad, it definitely had to do with the robots. Maybe Raymond was the culprit? He figured that seeing as he was the first robot to have some sort of influence on Radicles, he had to be a reason for Rad's behavior. He didn't know if he actually wanted to go through with this or just take Enid's advice and leave things well enough alone, but he was just looking out for Rad. He wanted his friends to be back to normal, well, as normal as they could be. It looked to him as if Darrell wanted the same thing for his family.

"Alright," K.O. finally said, clapping his hands together. "I'm going to keep watching Rad. You watch Boxmore to see if anything is happening in secret. Raymond might be the cause for this, and if he is manipulating Rad in any way I want to know." Spying was good as long as it helped, right? "Do you think you can watch your siblings?" He asked, tilting his head. 

Darrell grinned, almost evilly. "Don't worry..." He said. "I have eyes everywhere."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K.O. and Darrell are now trying to work together to figure all this out! I felt like I didn't really include them much in this so I added this chapter in. Secrets are everywhere here! I absolutely love getting feedback! I'm still not sure if I should change the rating for it, or just make another spin-off fic that's for the other stuff. I'm having fun writing this (even though writing it on mobile is horrible). I'll update it soon!


	7. Chapter 7

Waiting for a mission was absolute torture. Raymond didn't get sent to the plaza as often as Shannon and Darrell did, and with the skills they had it was almost like Boxman wanted to lose. He never really understood his father's logic in that way. Boxman attacked the plaza all the time because he needed something to do. He found it fun. It was almost like an addiction for him. However, he began to think about what would happen if Boxman actually did succeed in destroying the plaza. Raymond couldn't see it happening, but at the same time, if it actually did, his poor father would feel hollow inside. The plaza gave him a sense of purpose. As much as he resented his siblings sometimes for getting sent to the plaza so often, he knew that he was simply too good for the plaza workers to fight. If he succeeded, Boxman would have difficulty moving on. 

Trying to reason with Boxman wasn't the easiest thing to do. Raymond couldn't really talk to him about his current problem because, first of all, he was made to be too perfect for such things, and second, he knew he would be in big trouble if he said anything. His situation was so tragic, but didn't that just make it all the more romantic? Raymond wanted to punch himself. He was falling head over heels for a hero that he couldn't hope to love. His life would not allow it. That just made it all the more appealing to him. He actually wanted Rad, and he couldn't have him. 

Raymond's face flushed as he accessed his memories of the alien. He thought of his looks and his personality. Okay, maybe it wasn't the best personality, but wouldn't that be ironic for Raymond to point out? Even the faults that Radicles had were good. He was a hero, even if he didn't act like a typical hero would. There was no true definition for a hero anyway, they were everywhere. 

Raymond remembered being told that Radicles had brought him back to the factory when he shut down. A small smile crept to his face, one that was actually genuine. He wished he had seen it. He could only imagine how it looked. He must have been draped across Rad's hulking arms, hopefully he still looked flattering and not grossly passed out. Like the alien would care about such things anyway. He brought Raymond home instead of throwing him away, and that was what mattered. He felt his main processor flutter in his torso, and his cooling fans kicked in. Shannon was right.

He was in too deep. 

 

~~~~

 

Radicles was hoping for the presence of Raymond more than he was willing to admit. Raymond had been entering his head for a while, and trying to get the green robot out was incredibly difficult. He had moved some of his jobs to the back room just to get out of the view of both his co-workers and Boxmore. Stacking packages was an easy enough job. He didn't have to worry about getting caught daydreaming or being watched by Mr. Gar. He worked as he thought too, which definitely helped him be productive. 

He wondered what was happening at Boxmore. He hadn't seen Raymond since the incident in the alleyway. Raymond most likely didn't remember being brought back to the factory, nor did Radicles care if he knew about his heroic act. He wanted to know if Raymond was okay. Interacting with a hero other than for fighting couldn't look good in Boxman's eyes. The stout man would probably punish Raymond if he knew the robot acted out of protocol. Did he know? Radicles hoped not. 

As much as Radicles missed him, he still had to remember that Raymond was an enemy. He still had to battle him, and beat him up. He didn't know if he wanted to, however. Did he really want to dent the fine figure of the robot? Or break him apart? Radicles frowned as he thought about it. Robots differed from other forms of life in so many ways. He questioned if it was really necessary to be worried about it. Raymond could always get fixed or get a new body altogether and be good as new for yet another fight. It still felt wrong to tear his body up and destroy him. 

Radicles hoped he could get his mind in order soon. Raymond began crawling into it through work and sometimes when he tried to go to sleep. Maybe Raymond was doing the same thing. He was, after all, very attractive. Radicles could understand why Raymond liked him. 

Rad wanted to roll his eyes at himself. Being so full of yourself would get you nowhere. His dates with Enid had proven that. He wondered if Raymond thought the same. Did the robot want to be impressed? He would have to figure things out to find out what was really going on with him. 

He wasn't going to mess up three times.

 

~~~~

 

"Do you really think I'll get away with this?" 

Raymond sat in Shannon's room as she sorted through her things. Shannon nodded her head. "Of course you will! I won't let daddy know you're gone and you can go on your little date. Give me pictures and details, will ya?" Raymond huffed. "You know I have to actually ask him first. He doesn't even know I'm planning this." 

"We are planning this," Shannon corrected. "You two should get dinner at a nice restaurant. It would be really fun. Those kind of dates are always great."

Raymond didn't seem amused. He had heard enough about dinner dates. Sure, they were simple, but they were also incredibly boring and overly cliche. Raymond didn't want to see Radicles across from him at a table. He doubted that the alien would want to do something like that as well. Dinner dates were too regular, he wanted something that would actually be fun. 

Shannon caught Raymond's look, crossing her arms. "Fine, loverboy. What do YOU think you should do for the ideal date?" She squinted at him, taking some offense to him declining her offer. Raymond rested his fingers beneath his head in thought. He had a few ideas, but one of them sounded a lot better than the others. 

"How about a skating rink?" He perked up. "There's music, it could be faced paced or it could be taken slow, and it's still romantic!" Raymond practically lit up. Shannon scoffed. "Really? That's what you come up with to top my amazing idea for a dinner date?" She rolled her eyes sassily, disappointed by her younger sibling's taste. "Whatever. It ain't my date. If you really think that your alien boyfriend is going to like skating then go right ahead." She muttered. "Honestly why did you even ask for my opinion?" 

Raymond stood up and left, thanking Shannon for basically nothing and zooming through the hallways towards his room. He would have to plan a way to invite Radicles to the date, and hope he would actually be willing to go. On top of all that, he had to keep this whole thing hidden from Boxman. With Shannon taking his side he at least knew that he could trust her. He didn't know where Darrell was in this situation, if he even knew about it. He hadn't been paying much attention to his older brother. He supposed it didn't matter much. Darrell was so busy with his other work that he probably couldn't keep up with what was going on anyway.

Hours rolled by before Raymond had anything that even remotely resembled a plan. He had spent a majority of the time just trying to figure out how to ask Radicles out rather than planning out the date itself. He was so excited he could hardly hold it in. He decided that the most subtle way to get Rad's attention would be through a note. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about anyone else finding out. However, there was the concern that someone else might find it. He supposed it was just a risk he would be willing to take. 

 

~~~~

 

"Yo, Rad. I need you to bring these boxes to the back roo, okay?" Enid gestured to quite a few boxes of canned fruit, which were piled around a large platform. Rad nodded. "Don't worry, Enid. I got it." He set right to work, using his mind to levitate some of the boxes while he lifted up two in his arms. He had been working very hard that day, and he couldn't wait for his shift to be over so he could finally head home and relax. K.O. had already left with his mom, and it was usually just him and Enid for another half an hour before she would leave and he would eventually close up shop. 

He saw Enid getting ready to leave, and he stretched, letting out a long yawn. No one ever really showed up when it started getting dark, so sometimes Mr. Gar would just let them close up early. Other stores in the plaza tended to do the same thing, and he didn't mind. 

Rad wished he could be home. It especially helped when he didn't have to look at Boxmore through the front of the building. The facility was hard to ignore even on it's own. Now that he couldn't keep his mind off of Raymond, it just made it harder to avoid. He was physically exhausted, and it showed. When no one was around, he always let himself relax a little more. He liked it when he didn't have to worry about trying to please anyone. 

Rad stepped out of the bodega, closing up the store with the special key he was given. The only thing that was still lit up was the sign in front of the plaza. "Lakewood Plaza Turbo" was shining bright in the yellow lights highlighting it. Rad knew that would shut off soon. The lights across the street were off as well. Boxmore loomed over the road, casting shadows over it. The moon hung overhead, giving off a wonderful glow. 

Radicles walked through the nearly empty parking lot. A few cars were placed here and there, but Rad's van stuck out. He headed towards it casually. He was in no rush to get anywhere. He opened the door to the van and got inside, starting the engine up and rolling up the window that he had left open just a crack due to the heat of the day. He flicked on the car headlights and was ready to go home when he glanced to the side. Laying on the seat next to him was a small folded up piece of paper. He didn't remember that being there. 

Radicles turned on the light inside his van and picked up the paper, unfolding it so he could read the note. 

'"Meet me at 7:00pm behind the bodega tomorrow.   
Can't wait to see you again. I hope you like skating~"  
\- Ray'

Rad's face flushed purple as he placed the note back down on the seat. He drove to his apartment and, once he got inside, proceeded to look over the note again and again just to make sure it was real. The handwriting was so neat. Despite how short and simple it was, Radicles could tell that Raymond had thought hard about it. He didn't know he had been waiting for this chance until it came to him.

He was going to have to let Gar know that someone else needed to close up the shop tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

Radicles could hardly wait for his date. It was almost painful how the hours dragged on forever when he just wanted to leave work and see Raymond. He hadn't told Enid about what was going on or why she had to be the one to close up shop, and he honestly felt bad that he couldn't include his friends in this. But he wouldn't be willing to share anything with them unless Raymond was fine with that. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on between them, or what all this meant. For the most part, Radicles wanted answers, or at least, that's what he kept trying to tell himself. Truthfully, Rad did want to go on this date. He would give it a chance and try not to mess everything up.

Radicles couldn't really get himself ready for this get together. He still had work to do. Besides, he didn't think Raymond would mind if he didn't dress up. Other than at prom, Radicles had never seen Raymond wearing anything, so he had nothing to worry about when it came to putting on something nice. Radicles decided not to think too hard about that; robots were different. Still, Radicles brought a jacket with him just to spruce up his regular blue crop top. It didn't serve much of a purpose other than that. 

The hours had finally ticked by, and Rad had been checking the time often. He knew it wasn't considered cool to be early or on time, but that didn't mean he couldn't watch the clock for the end of his shift. Once the hour struck seven, he was ready to leave. 

"Remember Enid, when you close the shop you have to turn it twice and jiggle it a few times."

"Yeah yeah, I got it. I've closed up shop before." The ninja gave him a fair amount of attitude. She sat back at the counter and took the key from Rad. "Where are you going?" She asked, absentmindedly. 

Rad began to sweat nervously. "None of your business..." He said. Enid raised a brow, but she decided not to say anything else. "Whatever. As long as you go back to closing the shop after tonight." Radicles almost let out a sigh of relief, but he didn't have time nor did he want Enid to know she got to him. He slipped on his jacket and stepped out the door to the bodega. 

Coming around the corner to the back of the bodega, Radicles could see the bot waiting for him. Raymond leaned against the brick of the store's outer structure, his arms crossed as he stared at the ground. He almost looked nervous. When Raymond finally noticed Radicles approaching, he put on a confident smirk. Radicles had actually missed the concern in his face the second it was gone. 

"Well, looks like you did show up," Raymond started. "I expected you to be late, honestly." Radicles chuckled and made his way over to Raymond. "You were right. I usually do that." The robot could feel his face heat up as Rad approached him, but he kept his cool. Radicles knew he was no different from Ray, and it was almost awkward how they both tried to hide. 

Finally, Radicles let out a sigh. He was hoping to slowly let Raymond know about his softer side, or never even do that at all. But Raymond practically mirrored him, and he knew the robot was acting cool just like he was. "Look, if we are actually going to do this, I don't want either of us to pretend." Raymond looked up at Rad, his nervousness returning. Radicles smiled kindly at the robot. "I won't try to be some big cool guy to impress you, and I hope you don't do that as well. It doesn't work out in the end. I want to know you and I want you to actually know me. I'm not messing everything up a third time..." 

Raymond didn't entirely know the whole context of what Radicles was referring to, but he didn't need to. Radicles made his point clear. So, Raymond would follow it. The robot's expression changed as he gave Radicles a genuine smile, and Rad took his hand. Raymond didn't feel like Rad had expected him to. He was hard and metallic, like a robot should be, but he was also warm. Radicles actually liked it. Raymond flushed, but he didn't protest. 

"So, where are we going?" Radicles asked. Raymond began to walk, and Rad moved with him. "There is a skating rink in town that I have passed by a few times. It's a good 10 minute walk." Rad tried to remember what he was talking about. He might have gone past it before on his way to work. "Alright," he said. "Lead the way." 

Rad's ears drooped as he thought about who might be there or who might catch them together. What if someone found out about them and told others? He turned his head to Raymond, who obviously wasn't as bothered by that idea or hadn't even considered it. That said, Raymond was certainly bothered by something. Was he worried he would mess everything up? They had both been quiet for a few minutes. 

"So, what made you pick skating for a date? That isn't the first thing that pops into my head when I usually think about dating." Of course, skating was actually fun, and he would rather do that than sit at a table.

"It was my idea. Shannon had suggested a fancy dinner but I told her it was cliche. Would you rather do that?" Raymond stared at him, and Rad shook his head. "No, I think you picked the right choice!" He loved the way that Raymond brightened up when he agreed with him. He had never seen the robot show true happiness before. Then again, Raymond had probably never seen Radicles like that either. 

Radicles mulled over what to say. "You were gone for a while. I was starting to get worried that Boxman had done something horrible to you." 

Raymond's eyes widened. "Oh no! He doesn't know. I just wasn't allowed to go out because I hadn't been assigned a mission. Coach Box dad doesn't actually do horrible things to us. Well, he sometimes does for your standards but... It's- ...different..." He couldn't really explain how they were treated to Rad without the alien being even more disturbed.

"There was one thing that hasn't left my mind since I last saw you... What happened? You basically broke down in front of me and I had to carry you back to the factory." 

Raymond knew this question was bound to come up. He merely bit his lip and glanced away. "I'll tell you later," he answered. He was relieved when he saw the skating rink up ahead. Radicles noticed as well, but he was disappointed when Raymond still didn't want to answer him. Well, "later" didn't mean "never ". Rad still had that going for him. He kept up with the robot, both of them entering the rink. 

Radicles had offered to pay for the entrance, but Raymond turned him down. "Please, I was the one that planned this out." Raymond gave him a happy wink. Fortunately, they didn't have to pay for skates. Raymond came equipped with his own skates, and he opened a compartment inside of his body that revealed another pair for Radicles. They were a little big, but could be adjusted to fit his feet. 

The music of the rink was loud enough to keep some conversations private, but not loud enough that it was blaring over everything. Rad was lucky that he brought a jacket with him. The room was too cold for him to even pretend he was fine with such a temperature. He wondered if Raymond would be okay, or if robots could freeze. If he came equipped with ice skates, then he should be fine in cold climates. Raymond hit a small button on his foot, and the blades popped out from underneath him. He turned to see Radicles putting his ice skates on and pulling himself up. The alien nearly fell over once he stood up, and Raymond stifled a laugh as he helped him. "Are you alright?" He asked. "Fine," Rad stated simply. 

They made their way onto the rink, and once Radicles had proper balance, he was practically flying on the ice. Raymond was impressed by his skill, and he grinned as he decided to join him. Raymond had a sense of elegance on the ice. He glided across towards Rad, easily making his way past other people trying to enjoy themselves. He was glad that he had picked skating, they were both enjoying themselves. 

Once Raymond had caught up to Rad, they played with each other on the ice. Raymond moved ahead of Rad, only for the alien to catch him off guard and pull him in from behind. He blushed and sped up, trying to get Rad to catch him again. They went on like this for a little while before simply skating side by side and talking about life. Radicles didn't think he could enjoy going on a date if it meant he had to open up, but he was clearly mistaken. Raymond was worried that Rad wouldn't be impressed by his idea for a date, but they had both been wrong. 

Two hours went by before they finally left the rink. They walked back to the bodega and the factory, still laughing about the night's events. 

"I honestly didn't expect you to crash into that woman, I thought you were so much more graceful than that!" Rad snickered. Raymond smiled sheepishly. "You were the one that grabbed me. I just ended up going forwards." They both remembered the death stare that woman gave them after the incident, unable to hold back their chuckling. 

When they had finally settled down, Raymond rested his head on Rad as they walked. "I'd say this is a home run... We should do something like this again sometime..." He purred. Rad stared at the ground. "Yeah, I'd love to. Next time, I'm picking the place." He had a triumphant expression, proud of himself for actually having a successful date for once. 

"Hey Raymond."

The robot gave him an interested hum to let Rad know he was listening. Rad continued. "You never did tell me about what happened the last time we talked. What was that about?" 

Raymond moved his head off of Rad's shoulder. "It was a malfunction..." He said. "I was supposed to have my cooling system replaced, but I never did. When I spoke to you, the fans kicked into overdrive and popped out of place. I just shut down." He glanced away, his cheeks turning pink. Radicles didn't understand why that would happen, and Raymond could tell by the look on his face that he needed more information. He stopped where he was on the sidewalk and Rad stood in front of him. He toyed with his thumbs behind his back. 

"Cooling fans usually kick in when I feel stress or embarrassment. If I heat up enough they start to turn. I was sort of feeling like that when I spoke to you because..." Raymond didn't want to continue, but it was obvious enough that he didn't need to. Rad's confusion had switched to a cheeky smirk, a light blush on his face. 

"You know what's funny? We had never really mentioned where we stood. We both probably thought it, but we never said it. I get it. I didn't think that you were capable of feeling like I could, but man was I proven wrong just about all night. It seems like we were both a little misunderstood."

Raymond looked up from the sidewalk at Rad. He hadn't realized how close they were until now. Inside of Raymond, the quiet whirring of the fans were audible to Rad, and his grin could only grow wider. Raymond didn't even have a moment to consider things before he found lips being pressed to his own. 

Visible sparks came from Raymond. He was still frozen even after Rad pulled away. Raymond finally gathered himself, flustered by the sudden kiss. He didn't think he had ever longed for anything more in his life after it. 

"Thanks..." Rad murmured. "This was a great night..." He took Raymond's hand again and they walked back to the plaza, staying in the shadows so they couldn't be caught. Rad's van was waiting for him in the parking lot, and Raymond had left his window open and the door to his room locked. It was upsetting when they had to part, but fortunately, phone numbers were exchanged this time. Rad didn't think that Raymond owned a phone, but the robot continued to surprise him. Rad had Raymond pose for a photo, which he did so in a usual flamboyant way. Then he had him simply stand normally, making him laugh before he took the photo. Raymond settled on taking a picture of both of them. 

Raymond had finally departed to the factory, and Radicles headed back to his apartment. He opened the door to the small room and lied down, sending a simple thank you text to Raymond. Afterwards, he went to his gallery, opening up the two pictures he had taken of Raymond. The glamorous one was certainly taken with pizzazz, as Raymond wanted it to be. But when he flipped to the next one, which had Raymond's true and adorable smile, he looked at it for a while. The pictures were both of Raymond, but Radicles felt as if he were looking at two different sides to the robot, and he knew he loved both.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Radicles had a certain aura about him that was undeniably different from what he had looked like the past few days. He came into work with a smile on his face, and he carried pride in his composure. Though, it wasn't as if he were completely back to normal either. Despite not having stared at Boxmore or zoning out with a blank stare, Radicles still managed to be distracted. By what, none of his coworkers could guess. Enid and K.O. had watched Rad, just to make sure he was alright. When Rad looked to be more than just "alright", they felt like they probably should still feel concerned, at least in Enid's case. 

The first example had been when Radicles worked. His movements were more graceful than usual, and it was almost as if he were dancing to nothing at times. He still daydreamed, but at least he carried emotion with it instead of the emptiness he showed when he zoned out previously. The second had been his phone. Enid had caught Rad checking his phone plenty of times during work. With those two observations, Enid had managed to come up with a pretty spot-on conclusion as to what was going on, but she had barely breached the surface. 

"So... Who is the lucky lady?" She spoke up one day. Radicles stopped sweeping the area around the cash register, his cheeks dusting purple. "W-what? Enid, I don't know what you're talking about." Rad denied, albeit poorly. Enid was unfazed. "C'mon, you can't expect me to not figure this out. Of course you have someone. Zoning out, checking your phone for messages, leaving work early yesterday-" Rad rubbed the back of his head. "-I know you've been seeing someone. So, who is she?" 

He sighed. "Alright, you got me. She's not from around here..." He chuckled a little. "She's just my size, she has a great taste in dates, she likes manly things." He remembered how Raymond had wanted to skate with him rather than go out for dinner. "She's beautiful..." He added off to the side, the picture he took of Raymond still burrowed into the back of his mind. "She's really great." 

"Sounds like it," Enid shrugged. "What's her name?" She asked. Rad began to sweat a little. "Can't tell you," He stated simply. "Well why not?" Enid tilted her head, her brows furrowing. "What's with the need for being secretive?" Rad went back to sweeping. "I just don't think she would want me to tell you that. She's sensitive." He didn't know how he felt referring to Raymond as a "she", but as long as Enid didn't get suspicious again he would be alright. 

"Oh. Well, what did you do guys do yesterday?" Enid leaned on the counter. "We went skating," Rad replied. "She's really graceful on the ice." He smiled as Enid seemed convinced. "Sounds like fun. You should introduce me to her some time so I can tell her how bad you flop when it comes to dates." Radicles gave her a glare, but he felt his phone vibrate with a new message. "Excuse me for a moment, Enid. I have to talk to my girlfriend that I totally did not flop my first date with!" Rad huffed, going to the back room of the bodega.

The back room was always the best place to just keep to your thoughts. Radicles had learned that after moving boxes for so long. The work was easy, customers didn't bother you, and sometimes if you worked long enough you just forget the time going by. That, of course, was not why Rad was here right now. He opened his phone to find a new message from Raymond. They had spoken after the date via text last night, but it was merely exchanging thanks and bidding each other goodnight. He was happy to get the response, but his smile disappeared when he read the text. 

'I think my brother is getting suspicious.'

He froze, not too sure what to type back. What could he really say? He supposed the most he could do was just tell Raymond not to worry and to just be careful. He typed out a simple response. 

'don't worry, it will all be cool. Do you have any proof?'

The phone signaled that Raymond was typing, but he was distracted by K.O. entering the back room. He had a big smile on his face. Rad quickly his his phone behind his back and shut it off, concealing the messages. "H-Hey K.O., what are you doing here?" He asked. The kid held his arms behind his back. "I wanted to help you in the back room! It'll be fun!" Rad glanced to the side nervously, but he agreed. "Alright, you can help." K.O. grinned wider at his response, cheering in victory. Rad wasn't as happy as K.O. was. This meant he wouldn't be able to text Raymond to assure him everything was alright. He supposed he could try to sneak a peek at the texts when K.O. wasn't looking. 

K.O. didn't talk to him for the first ten minutes that they were working together. It was almost suspicious. However, he vontinued work as usual, occasionally glancing to K.O., who seemed normal. They managed to finish stacking the packages ahead of shedule, which was both good and bad. It was good because he was doing such a good job, but it was bad because Radicles realized just how often he escaped the store to stack boxes. 

They decided to have a little break together in the back room, K.O. swinging his legs slightly while sitting on a large crate. Radicles finally decided to check his messages, but he was interrupted by K.O. 

"So, what have you been up to lately?" 

Radicles put his phone away, turning to K.O. "What do you mean? I've been doing work lately." He tilted his head, not quite sure what K.O. was getting at. "You've been retreating back to this room for days now. I hardly see you. You've also been acting different." K.O. hopped down from the crate, his concern clear. Radicles was disappointed with himself, mostly for making it so obvious something was wrong. He frowned. 

"It's just... I just..." He didn't know how to explain. "You're too young for this kind of thing right now, okay? When you're older, you'll understand." He pat K.O. on the head. K.O. raised a brow. "You mean you have a special someone?" Rad sighed and K.O. laughed. "You do! Who is it?" He had a childish excitement, dancing around Radicles. Rad blushed, gripping the sides of the crate he was perched on. 

"I can't tell you. Sorry K.O." He shrugged. K.O. nodded. "Alright. Can you tell me what she likes?" Rad didn't see much of a problem with that. He didn't want to let K.O. down too much. He could at least tell him some things about Ray. "She likes sports. She also has a great personality. I like how she's proud, but she also knows she makes mistakes." K.O. got increasingly more hyped the more Radicles described this mystery girl. He was practically hopping up and down by the time Radicles was finished describing her. "Wooow! I got to meet your girlfriend sometime! She sounds so cool!" 

"Yeah, she really is..." Radicles hummed in contentment, making himself comfortable on the crate. "I mean, maybe some day you can meet her. Just not soon." He cringed a little, wondering if he could actually stick to his word. K.O. didn't seem to notice. He was just happy that nothing bad was happening to Rad. He knew now that Rad was completely fine. In fact, he was better than fine. He would have to tell Darrell that there was nothing wrong on his side, if Darrell didn't already know. 

"Rad, are you still going to go back here?" K.O. asked. As much as he liked Radicles being happy, he wanted to see Rad working in the store too. Radicles had been escaping to the back room far too often. Rad leaned down. "Sure, little buddy. If you're that worried about it I'll work in the store with you." He ruffled K.O.'s hair. "Great!" K.O. exclaimed, settling the deal. He ran out of the store, going to help Enid out with whatever the lazy ninja needed done. 

Rad smirked casually, chuckling a bit. K.O. was so innocent. He didn't have to worry about any of the things Rad was stressing over. He just cared way too much about everyone. As much as Rad appreciated it, he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to let the kid know what was going on. Keeping everything a secret from his friends turned out to be a bit harder than he first thought. 

Of course, Rad knew that it had to be far worse for Raymond. The robot was surrounded. Rad was also worried that Raymond might actually get punished for ahowing feelings towards his enemy. He would just have to help Raymond with not getting caught. He had so much to look out for, and he doubted villains would be as generous as heros when it came to this sort of thing. 

Remembering Raymond's text, he finally got the chance to look down at his phone. He unlocked it and saw the notification for a new message, the one he hadn't seen before K.O. arrived. He looked at it and tensed up, his eyes widening as he read it. 

'I saw him monitoring your friend.'


	10. Chapter 10

Raymond watched as Darrell glanced at a holographic monitor, which had a camera on it displaying everything that K.O. was looking at. Unfortunately, the kid was so short that the most Darrell saw were legs or torsos. It was almost laughable how poorly they had planned it. Darrell could still hear conversations, so for the most part he didn't need to see anything. Raymond remained hidden as Darrell fussed around with the monitor. This was bad. He was tactful in keeping all of this secretive, but he should have known there would be some issues. He glanced down at his phone, noticing that Rad hadn't read his warning yet. He would just have to hope that Rad didn't give anything away to K.O. It seemed easy enough for him, but if he knew anything about Rad's personality, he could brag. 

He raised a brow when he heard Radicles talk to K.O. He knew this was really wrong on his part. After all, he was basically watching Rad without the other's knowledge, but he supposed there was good reasoning behind it. He could explain to Radicles later. It didn't take the robot long to notice that Radicles was saying "she" when talking about his date. He smiled, acknowledging that Radicles was at least smart when talking about him. If he spoke about a girl, they wouldn't be as suspicious seeing as Rad referred to almost all of Raymond's traits. That said, he was still amused that Radicles called him a girl. He would have to have a talk with him later about that. 

K.O. seemed to be satisfied, and he turned and left. Darrell spoke through the monitor. "That doesn't make any sense!" The red robot hissed. "Well, sorry to hear about your siblings, but I just don't think that they have anything to do with Rad." K.O. talked with Darrell once he was alone. "Rad had just been weird because he met a girl. The problem on my side is solved." The camera moved up and down again as K.O. shrugged. 

"Fine," Darrell sighed. "Meet me at the bodega later. I'll remove that camera." K.O. replied with a quick "alright!" before the holographic monitor disappeared. Darrell left his current place to join the others, and Raymond snuck off in the other direction. He narrowed his eyes bitterly, making his way to Shannon's room. 

Knocking on the door frantically, he waited for Shannon to come let him in. "What do you want?" She asked, crossing her arms. "More advice on what to do with that Lakewood loser?" 

"Darrell is trying to find out what's going on." 

Shannon froze, mulling over this, before letting him in. She slammed her door shut so no suspicion was raised. Raymond went to the bed, where he was always told to go when in Shannon's room. He rolled his eyes at the fact that Shannon still didn't trust him not to touch anything, despite how many times he had been in her room before. It was just habit, he supposed. 

"This could get bad." Shannon paced. "You could be discontinued if dad finds out." Raymond nodded. Though, there was a bit of an exception. Raymond was still a newer robot, and he was packed with so many capabilities and weapons that he doubted Boxman would get rid of him entirely. He could never fully deny the morals of his father. He was so unpredictable that he might just be ended. It was a terrifying thought. 

"He has nothing on us. All he knows is that Rad is dating someone." He at least had the benefit of Darrell being unable to connect Rad's affection to him. Who knew what Darrell would do if he knew about them. As horrible as he was, Darrell was not completely evil. He would probably try to get Raymond to end this. 

"Darrell is meeting up with Rad's co-worker behind the store later today," Raymond said. Shannon smirked almost maliciously when she heard this. "Well, maybe there we can pay a little visit to our older brother. Maybe ask him what all the spying is for?" She grinned. Raymond shared the look, standing up. 

This would be fun.

~~~~

Darrell waited behind the bodega for K.O. He had kept his promise, now he just needed to get what he needed from the kid. He was about to check the time when he saw K.O. happily walk over to him. He had the camera already in his hand, handing it over to the disappointed red robot.

"Sorry I couldn't find out what was wrong with Shannon and Raymond. At least now you know that Rad has nothing to do with it. He's still himself now, so that's good. He can still fight you guys." 

Darrell didn't seem convinced by this, no matter how may times K.O. insisted upon it. There was definitely more going on between his brother and sister, and he knew it had to do with the alien. He just needed to connect the pieces. K.O. didn't appear to be of much help to him, but there was nothing he could do about it. He supposed he would just have to do more spying without using the young hero. 

"Just great..." Darrell muttered. He glanced down at the camera in his metal hand before putting it away. "Don't think this is over. I am going to get to the bottom of this. Just you wait!" Darrell turned to leave, but at that moment Raymond had come out of hiding, blocking his path. Shannon had countered K.O., who prepared to fight. He turned to Darrell with a sense of betrayal, but he was thrown off when he was met with a look of nervous confusion. It seemed as if Darrell had nothing to do with the ambush. 

"So you decide to spy on us, hmm?" Raymond hummed, stepping forwards. Shannon moved K.O. backwards until both him and Darrell were back to back. "Did you really think you'd be able to get away with this?" Shannon taunted. Both Raymond and Shannon had smug expressions. Darrell had no clue what to do. K.O. decided to speak. 

"Darrell is just looking out for your best interests. You should be thanking him for caring. It's the right thing to do." K.O. said, hoping that despite the robots being villains, they at least had some good ethics. He was met with cold stares. Of course they knew that, would they have figured otherwise? 

"Ever heard of minding your own business?" Shannon cut in, placing her hands on her hips. She stood defensively, and carried the same amount of sass in her as Raymond. Both robots knew they wouldn't fight Darrell or K.O., but they hoped to teach the spies that the two shouldn't get themselves into problems they can't hope to deal with, and they also just wanted them off their tail so they had nothing to worry about. 

The two robots closed in on the red robot and hero. "We only want you to understand." Raymond's voice dripped with innocence, which conflicted with his appearance. "Don't get into something you don't know the full meaning of," Shannon added. They moved closer to the spyimg duo. K.O. appeared to zone out in his own thoughts while Darrell looked to him for any kind of support. 

Raymond and Shannon only intended to scare them, and they had certainly gotten away with it for the most part, but Raymond doubted Rad would be able to forgive him if he witnessed what Raymond was currently doing to his co-worker, even if he hadn't attacked him nor had any real intention to harm the other. 

They had figured they got their point across, but as they were about to leave, a small alarm went off inside of Raymond, and he exchanged a look with Shannon before they quickly headed to Boxmore, leaving K.O. and Darrell behind. 

"What job could coach possibly want for me now?" Raymond scoffed. Shannon laughed. "Looks like you might be up for attacking the plaza this time." Raymond shrugged. He could use a good fight at this time. Now that he had gotten his feelings in order and he knew what all of this was about, he wouldn't have as much of a problem fighting Rad anymore. He wondered if Rad thought the same way. He would have to explain this to him later. 

Raymond took out his phone, sending a quick text to Rad. 'Heads up!' It read. The sign that Radicles was typing appeared, and not long after came the response of 'for what?' from the alien. He at least wanted to let Rad know he was coming, but he didn't answer Rad. At least, not yet. 

Once the robots were back at the factory, Raymond first went to his room to put his phone away, then he made his way to his father's office, expecting to get the job of attacking the plaza. "Would you like me to take care of those Lakewood losers for you, coach?" He tipped his head. Boxman narrowed his eyes and grinned. "You know me so well. Go attack them for me! And don't disappoint!" He slammed the "attack" button that sat on his desk. 

Raymond knew the deal, he would get boxed up and sent to the plaza, only to spring out and destroy as much of the plaza as he could before being defeated. Raymond seemed confident enough once he was in the box. He felt himself falling, and the box finally opened when he hit the ground. The robot was surrounded by confetti when it burst open, a nice touch on Boxman's part. The three Lakewood Plaza workers were already posed for the fight they knew would take place, and Raymond himself was ready, striking a lovely pose. He turned specifically to Rad, who didn't appear to be as ready for a fight as Raymond had hoped. That was no matter, he could hopefully convince Rad that he was okay with fighting. 

"For me~," he purred to his audience. More specifically, to Radicles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. I saw the new "Rad Likes Robots" episode. As much as I support those that ship Shannon with Rad, I personally think that the episode was terrible. I actually spent the entire time watching it and wondering "what is this? What is THIS?" And it's not just because it was a dedication to Shannon and Rad or because of that ship. The entire dynamic of the episode was off. Rad acted nothing like himself, nor did they have their actual voices when singing. The worst part had to be the meaning of the plot. To me, it just said that the robots were incapable of love, and not only is that untrue, but it's also disheartening. Normally, I would be all for musicals and play-oriented episodes in cartoons, but this was just disappointing. It almost seemed forced and rushed in a way that I had waited until the end of it just to see if that was even really going on. As much as there could be an argument against this ship too, there had at least been implications to it previously (ex. "impressive", prom, the rivalry they appear to have) and similarities in personality. Rad didn't appear to have any correlation to Shannon specifically. Anyways, that is just my opinion. Feel free to discuss this more in the comments! I will most likely get back to you!


	11. Chapter 11

Radicles would have been lying if he said he hadn't expected this. What else could "heads up" possibly mean? As much as he felt like this was wrong on his part, what choice did he have? Radicles couldn't refuse to fight him, especially around his friends. Radicles would give himself away if he did that. He just didn't know if he had it in him to fight the robot. 

Radicles turned to Raymond for approval, and was merely met with a cocky smirk. Raymond didn't seem like he didn't want to fight Rad. In fact, he looked like the total opposite. He practically encouraged Radicles to battle. Rad would have felt uneasy, but something about the robot made him more welcoming to the blue alien. The more Rad thought about it, the more he realized that this was bound to happen and Raymond was only trying to make the best of their situation. With that in mind, Radicles posed for an attack, offering the robot a confident grin. 

Raymond watched as Radicles processed this. He could tell Rad was thinking about whether or not he should fight the robot. Raymond tried to subtly encourage him in any way that he could. There was no way Raymond would start doing some cheerleader dance for him out in the open, so poses would have to suffice. 

Of course, Radicles was never alone when Raymond visited him at work. His friends always tried to stop him, merely getting in the way of their real battle. He had no worries when it came to K.O. For one, he never really fought Raymond anyway. K.O. was also currently sitting out on the curb, possibly contemplating what he and Shannon had said to him and Darrell after the spying incident. He could only hope that K.O. didn't put together the pieces. As good as the kid was, if he had that information he might destroy everything Raymond worked towards, and it could threaten his existence. 

Then there was the ninja. Enid, as he recalled. She didn't seem to be much of a threat to him, but she was older than K.O. and probably understood more about what Radicles was going through. That is, if she even knows about it. For all Raymond knew, Radicles only told K.O. about what happened. He supposed he hadn't given K.O. the whole story. He had even referred to Raymond as a "she". That would only stall time and suspicion, because eventually they were bound to want a name. 

Raymond moved towards Rad, making his arm into a laser. He would never actually hit Rad with it, but whose to say he can't play with him a bit? Raymond fired at the ground beside him just as a warning before moving towards Radicles. The blue alien hopped out of the way and held his arms up, winding up for a punch. He flung himself forwards, nailing the robot in the face. Raymond staggered back, only to fall forwards when Enid kicked him on the back of the head. He landed on the ground, using his rocket boosters to move out of the way before Enid could attack again. His interal processor notified him that he was running low on fuel for them, so he would have to use the boosters carefully. 

Raymond rolled out of the way of another punch, flinging himself up off the ground. "That's a foul move on your part! That's okay! played it anyway!" He laughed. 

"Alright pompadork, you want a foul move? I'll give you a foul move!" Enid growled, running up to kick him. Raymond dodged it, and Enid landed on the other side of the parking lot. 

"Looks like you missed the goal," Raymond sneered. Enid rushed him, but Raymond had prepared for it. He grabbed her leg, his metal hand heating up from the flaming kick, and flung her towards the sky. "That's a home run for sure!" He exlaimed with a grin. Enid landed beside the road, tagging her out of the fight. Raymond watched her land with amusement, noticing Radicles heading right towards him in his peripheral vision. He ducked and Radicles hopped over him, landing clumsily on his feet and facing away from the robot. "Would you like to join your friend on the bench?" Raymond asked, holding out his arm blaster. He didn't fire it, he just aimed it so Radicles would know to move. 

"Nice try, you hunk of junk!" Radicles taunted. "I have a spot reserved just for you in the scrap pile out back!" He lifted Raymond up in the air with his mind powers, the robot struggling in his grip. Radicles slammed Raymond down into the parking lot, boggling his sensors and making his vision blur and duplicate. He was legitimately dazed, and Rad chuckled because he could tell. He whispered to Raymond once he figured the robot had snapped out of it enough. "Is destroying you an option?"

Raymond nodded his head. "Of course! We can talk about this later." He jerked his body, more for show than anything else. Radicles hoped so, this was such a strange relationship. He wasn't sure how he felt about destroying the robot now that they were together, but Raymond didn't appear to be against it. If Raymond had a plan to solve this, he was all for hearing it. 

Radicles tossed Raymond down onto the parking lot, creating a decent sized pothole in the cement. Raymond felt his insides rattle. Something must have come loose inside of him. He managed to get up, and hit Rad right in the face with a football. "My my, don't you know how to catch?" Raymond tsked him. Radicles rubbed his face and went to punch the robot. Raymond wasn't quick enough to dodge and ended up falling onto his back. He fired three baseballs at Radicles, who jumped out of the way. Raymond's leg had been damaged, along with some other parts of his body. It may have been best for him to just accept defeat right then and there. 

"Three strikes, you're out," Radicles said with a grin. He lifted Raymond with his mind again, bashing the robot into the ground until he finally exploded in ash and plenty of large chunks of metal. Raymond hadn't protested before exploding, and Rad doubted he would have been able to. He still felt somewhat sick for killing his significant other, but at the same time, he supposed that didn't matter. He'd see him later anyway. 

Radicles got to work cleaning up the pieces. He had never actually destroyed Raymond before this. Raymond had succeeded the last time he had attacked the plaza himself, and he didn't blow up at the dance-off. It made him wonder why he had bothered helping Raymond when he shut down in front of him. Rad dismissed his thoughts. He was doing the right thing. He cared about Raymond and that was that. 

 

~~~~

Raymond was still light-headed when he stepped off the manufacturing line. He wasn't used to being destroyed completely, but his new body was fine. He checked himself over to make sure nothing was faulty, and he sighed in relief when he realized that he was perfect, as always. 

Raymond made his way to his father's office to get scolded for failing miserably. He knocked on the door, waiting patiently until he heard a bitter shout for him to enter. Boxman had been waiting for him, and he was less than pleased. Raymond just wished to get this over with so he could go to his room. "I apologize, Coach Boxdad. I didn't mean to lose!" 

"Whatever!" The mad scientist snapped. Raymond had done a fair bit of damage to the plaza. The parking lot currently looked like the surface of the moon. As long as the robots destroyed the plaza as much as they could and ruined the day of the workers, Boxman didn't really care if they won. He was still disappointed, but losing was basically a tradition at this point. He was kept entertained by attacking the bodega whenever he could. "You had one job and you failed. Just get out of here. I have business to attend to." 

"You mean you have Venomous to flirt with..." Raymond thought to himself. Boxman did have a point, however. He couldn't afford to spend all his time attacking the plaza. The man owned a company. As long as he could get his kicks once in a while as a villain, he was satisfied. Raymond had expected more of a rant from his father, but the brevity of the man's speech was accepted with the utmost enthusiasm from his robotic son. 

Raymond left the office immediately. He made his way down the halls until he found the door to his room, entering quickly to snag his phone and then heading towards the gymnasium. Having some time to himself to shoot hoops was always fun. The second he was in the hallways again he turned his phone on and texted Radicles. 

'Back from the manufacturing line. Should we meet up?' 

The reply was almost instant. 'Sure! After work probably.'

He answered back. 'How about around 8?'

'Works for me!'

Raymond grinned. 'Alright. Talk to you then.'

He shut his phone off and placed it in a small storage compartment in his body. He then went to the gym closet and took out a basketball. Dribbling the ball a few times to start, he made his way to the hoop. Raymond scored basket after basket, easily aiming and shooting the ball. It was times like this that he could just let his mind wander. Raymond didn't particularly focus on what he was doing, he just recalled events. His fight with Radicles had ended badly for him, sure, but he still prevailed. There was always a next time for Raymond.

He would have to get Rad's opinion on the fight. Radicles had done well under pressure and concern that he might hurt Ray. Raymond didn't particularly care about it. Robots were expendable. Making more of him was no problem so he didn't have to worry about death. He just wanted Rad to care less about it like he did. To him, Radicles was merely overreacting when it came to destroying him. Rad was bothered by too much and he had nothing to really worry about. Living beings were strange in that way, caring about losing others.

Raymond's expression began to slowly shift the more he pondered this. He frowned as he scored a basket. Realization had hit him hard. 

What if he was the one in the wrong?


End file.
